OTD: STOKOE IN MEMORIAM

On this day in 2004, FA Cup and promotion-winning former Sunderland manager Bob Stokoe sadly passed away at the age of 73 in Hartlepool. Stokoe initially managed the club between 1972 and 1976 guiding us to an FA Cup in 1973, through one of the biggest upset wins ever in the final of the competition, and then capped his first spell off on Wearside by winning the Second Division title in 1976. He returned to Sunderland as caretaker manager in 1987 and ended his managerial career here, he holds a rare honour of never being sacked as the boss at any of his clubs.

The Northumberland-born man began his playing career at Newcastle United, making his debut on Christmas Day 1950 against Middlesbrough. He also scored in that game, one of four goals in his Newcastle career. One of Stokoe’s most memorable moments for the Mags was playing in a 3-1 win over Manchester City in the 1955 FA Cup final.

Stokoe wound down his career at Bury before retiring and becoming their manager at just 31 years old. It made him the second-youngest manager in the Football League. After brief spells at Charlton Athletic, Rochdale and Carlisle United, Stokoe took over at Blackpool. Despite not being overly popular among the Blackpool fanbase, he brought European football to the seaside in the form of the Anglo-Italian Cup. After his third season at Blackpool, Stokoe claimed that he wanted to stay at Blackpool for five years. However, Sunderland came calling and the lure of a North East return was too much.

When he took over, Sunderland were bottom of the Second Division. However, we went on a run of 32 games that saw defeat just 5 times, guiding us to comfortable safety! Less than a year into his Sunderland spell, Stokoe wrote himself into the history books forever.

We beat Manchester City and Arsenal on the way to the FA Cup final, but nobody gave us a chance against Don Revie’s Leeds United side. United had won the cup the previous year and were a division higher than the Black Cats. However, an Ian Porterfield goal and a world class double save from Jimmy Montgomery meant that Sunderland were the only Second Division team to lift the trophy in 42 years!

He famously has a statue outside the Stadium of Light, which shows Stokoe running onto Wembley’s pitch in his trademark trilby hat, arms outstretched. Sunderland finished sixth that season and narrowly missed out on promotion the following two years. We eventually went up as champions, adding to Stokoe’s collection of silverware.

However, we struggled in the top-flight. The lads went nine games without a win, leading to the gaffer’s resignation. He went on to only manage former clubs of his. He had stints back at Bury, Blackpool and Rochdale before finally returning to Carlisle. After two spells there, he came back to Sunderland with the team fighting relegation in the Second Division. We eventually lost the relegation play-off despite Stokoe being at the helm, taking us to the Third Division for the first time in our history. Stokoe’s contract was not renewed at the end of the season and he retired from football.

In his later life, Bob struggled for a while with Alzheimer’s. He suffered from pneumonia and was admitted to hospital, sadly passing away in 2004 aged, incidentally, 73. He garnered such respect in the North East that fans of both Newcastle and Sunderland gathered for Bob’s funeral, which took place in Newcastle.